Several problems occur when an area of skin is left in contact with moisture, heat, urine, and fecal irritants for extended periods of time. Such exposure occurs in diapers and other incontinence garments where bodily excretion provides moisture and irritants. The same exposure occurs beneath bandages and coverings where bodily heat and lack of air circulation increases the moisture and temperature in the vicinity of the wound. The presence of moisture, combined with heat from the body and irritants from excretions, creates a virtual Petri dish for infections which leads to compromise of the epidermis (skin), diaper dermatitis, ulcers, and other diseases, with a variety of secondary and tertiary problems resulting in the deterioration of the quality of patient care.
To capture moisture, diapers and feminine hygiene products are often made using super-absorbent polymers that absorb moisture without drying the patient's skin. Thus, diapers and incontinence garments, once exposed to patients' excretions remain moist, and provide a source of irritant diaper dermatitis for millions of patients each year in the United States alone.
The ability of the above-mentioned products to fully dissipate body-generated moisture is limited by the passive nature of the absorbency technology underlying all diaper and incontinence garments. There is sometimes a separate layer next to the skin, but this layer will never dry until the entire diapers or incontinence garment dries, which will not happen because a low-permeability outer layer keeps moisture from evaporating to protect clothing, etc., from the liquid materials.
What is needed is a device that will accelerate evaporation and drying of the skin in enclosed environments or covered-wound environments, while simultaneously allowing for the application of gaseous oxygen to repaired compromised skin.